TfL Board approves final plans for Mayor’s “Crossrail for Bikes”

London’s streets will become safer and more accessible for cyclists as the Transport for London (TfL) Board today (4 February) approved plans for the construction of four new cycle superhighways (East-West, North-South, CS1 and the inner section of CS5) and upgrades to the four existing cycle superhighway routes (CS2, CS3, CS7 and CS8) as part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision.

The schemes, which will cost around £160m to deliver between now and the end of 2016, will help treble the number of cycle journeys made over the next 10 years and transform London’s streets and spaces to places where cyclists feel they belong and are safe.

The Cycle Superhighway programme is essential for improving conditions for the hundreds of thousands of people who are already cycling daily in London, as well as help encourage more people to take to two wheels. The new routes, which in total cross nine boroughs, will further help cycling become an integral part of London’s transport network so that anyone can jump on a bike to get to work, to the shops or to discover London. Work to deliver these schemes will now begin within the next month.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “We know that Londoners want these routes and that they want them to be delivered to the high standard I promised, as quickly as possible. I will keep that promise and spades will begin hitting the ground next month. Thanks to the skill of TfL’s engineers and traffic managers, we have made changes which keep the cycle track and junctions segregated, while taking out much less of the route’s motor traffic capacity. I now look forward to the transformation that these planned routes will bring – not just for people who cycle now, but for the thousands of new cyclists they will attract.”

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “Cycling is clearly now a major transport option in London, with over 170,000 bike journeys now made across central London every single day. These schemes will revolutionise cycling in the capital and further demonstrate how London is leading the way in making its roads safe for all road users. There will, naturally, be some disruption due to these works but we have some of the world’s leading highway and traffic engineers, traffic models and modellers working tirelessly to ensure that this is kept to a minimum.”

Chris Boardman, British Cycling’s policy advisor, said: “This is a fantastic day for Londoners as well as the many million people who visit the capital every year.

“This vision for large-scale, properly segregated cycle ways will make cycling a more attractive transport option, creating a more pleasant, healthy and sustainable London for everyone. The move brings the capital one step closer to creating a true cycling culture to rival cities like Copenhagen and Amsterdam. But most importantly of all, it will set a standard for the rest of the country.”

Now that the TfL Board has approved the plans, a wide programme of communication and traffic management will be carried out to ensure that these works can be delivered with minimum disruption to London’s roads. This includes further investment in sophisticated traffic signal technology, which allows better management of traffic depending on differing conditions at any given time. TfL will also work with businesses along the route to help manage deliveries in the best possible way, providing advice to enable them to move away from deliveries during the busiest times and help reduce unnecessary congestion across London.